Peet’s Coffee & Tea, a dark roast pioneer in the Bay Area, plans to expand and add medium roasts to retail locations in the northeast, a move that may put them in competition with Dunkin’ Donuts.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Peet’s, founded in Berkeley in 1966, now boasts 196 stores throughout the United States, including five east coast locations and counting. In 2010, the company posted gross income of $338 million, compared to $284 million in 2009.

Peet’s plans to add medium roast coffees to its east coast locations, which will be in a market that is dominated by Dunkin’ Donuts, known and beloved by East Coasters for its light roast profiles. “What we learned is that they are very intrigued by our quality tenets [but] we just didn’t have the taste profile they were looking for,” Jessica Mitchell, Peet’s senior marketing manager, told the Journal regarding coffee drinkers on the Atlantic.

Peet’s began offering two medium roasts — Café Solano and Café Domingo — in grocery stores in August, but reports suggest the roasts will begin popping up in Peet’s cafes.